


Gratitude

by INMH



Series: after the evacuation (pacifist ending) [32]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Child Neglect, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Past Character Death, Strong Language, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-07-29 11:56:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16263722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INMH/pseuds/INMH
Summary: Connor sees a familiar face.





	Gratitude

Connor was fairly sure he recognized that voice.  
  
“This is _ridiculous._ ”  
  
“Ma’am, I-”  
  
He spent a few minutes trying to recall it- female, somewhere between thirty and forty years-old- naturally before succumbing to the processes necessary to do a formal voice recognition.  
  
“You’re employing _murderers._ ”  
  
“Mrs. Phillips-”  
  
 **CAROLINE PHILLIPS**  
  
 **BORN: MAY 23 2001**  
  
Oh. Yes, Connor _did_ recognize the voice.  
  
And the name.  
  
And the angry face that was now storming away from Captain Fowler’s office.  
  
Connor had had only one direct interaction with Caroline Phillips, and it had involved her demanding that the police send a _real_ person to negotiate her daughter’s release from the family android that had gone deviant and taken her hostage. Connor had not been offended in the slightest- he’d been brand-new and utterly unbothered by words, emotions suppressed by his programming. Had he given her a great deal of thought after becoming deviant, Connor might have dismissed the harsh words as grief for her husband and fear for her daughter; as it was, he’d heard that the widowed Mrs. Phillips had fallen in with the general anti-android protestors that were entrenched in Detroit. She’d been present at Jericho headquarters at the beginning of the month when they’d received the androids that Cyberlife had been forced to release, screaming anti-android slogans with the other protestors.  
  
She hadn’t noticed Connor’s presence; or if she had, she’d assumed that he was a different RK800 than the one she’d briefly met. And Connor had been considerably grateful for that.  
  
Just like then, Caroline did not notice him now, as she was marching away from Connor towards a little girl sitting in a chair against the wall.  
  
Connor’s LED ran yellow for the sheer shock of it.  
  
“Mrs. Phillips, can you _please-_ ”  
  
Caroline turned back to Fowler; the little girl got out of her chair, clearly anticipating that her mother was about to lead her out, and it was this slight change in position that allowed her to spot Connor in the bullpen. Her eyes widened.  
  
“Connor!”  
  
Connor didn’t need a program-search to recognize this girl.  
  
Emma Phillips had been, until this moment, immortalized as a nine year-old girl in a pink-striped shirt and jean-shorts, face streaked with tears as she was dangled dangerously close to the edge of her apartment building’s roof. After negotiating her release from her deviant android, Daniel, Connor had neither received nor asked for any updates regarding Emma. His mission had succeeded: She had been rescued from a terrifying situation and a terrible demise, and that was all the knowledge he’d required prior to going deviant. And unlike her mother, Emma had not made a name for herself by decrying androids.  
  
Seeing her now, Connor felt the relief and satisfaction one felt when seeing the long-term fruits of their efforts.  
  
Emma approached him hesitantly, as though she wasn’t quite certain that she had the right android. Connor offered her a smile. “Hello, Emma.”  
  
Emma smiled back. “It _is_ you!” She hopped forward and threw her arms around his neck. Connor carefully hugged her back.  
  
“It’s good to see you,” He said once they’d released one another. “How have you been?”  
  
“I-”  
  
“Emma!”  
  
Emma whipped around, ponytail accidentally smacking Connor in the face. Caroline Phillips was standing nearby, expression stormy. “But mom-”  
  
“Do _not_ touch my daughter,” Caroline spat at Connor. “Now that you’re deviant, you probably think that fucking android was right to kill my husband, don’t you?” She was intense, erratic, much like she’d been when he’d met her in August; but _that_ had been a result of extreme emotion. That she was at that same emotional level now as then sent up red flags.  
  
“Of course not,” Connor responded, slowly rising to his feet and fighting to keep his voice calm. “What Daniel did to your husband and Emma was unacceptable. I would never-”  
  
“Emma,” Caroline snapped, “ _Get away from that thing._ ”  
  
It hadn’t stung in the apartment ( _why aren’t you sending a real person!?_ ), but it certainly did now.  
  
“No!” Emma barked in her mother’s direction, stomping a foot and fixing her with a fierce look. “I want to talk to Connor!”  
  
Caroline stalked over, grabbing Emma by the arm and giving Connor a sharp shove backwards as she did; he lost his balance and fell into his chair. Officer Miller, who’d been watching alertly from nearby, immediately got out of his seat and started towards them. “No,” Connor said quickly. “Leave it. They’re leaving.”  
  
“That was assault,” Chris responded flatly. “You really want to let that go?”  
  
“Yeah,” Connor said- and then immediately got out of his seat and followed the Phillips’ into the Lobby. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was obvious that Emma was being roundly scolded for defying her mother; as they stepped out the door, Connor could see tears on Emma’s face.  
  
A complex swell of emotions settled in Connor’s chest. There was sadness, mostly for Emma; embarrassment at having been blatantly disrespected in his place of work by her mother; and something much deeper and harder to name, something grim and dark as he remembered the whole reason that the three of them knew each other. Connor had told the truth: There was _no_ excuse for what Daniel had done to Emma and her father, or to the officer that had been shot trying to save her. But Connor could now at least empathize as to why Daniel might have felt the way he did, and remembering his last words- “ _You lied to me, Connor_ ”- even though Connor knew he’d done the right thing in saving Emma, he did not feel completely good about how he’d done it.  
  
“Connor, are you alright?” Connor turned and saw Daphne, one of the ST300s that manned the front counter in the lobby. Her LED was yellow, eyes jumping between him and the door. “What happened with Phillips?”  
  
“She pushed me.”  
  
Daphne’s mouth dropped open, and the papers in her hand fell onto the desk. She looked furious, which was rare for her. “And you didn’t arrest her?”  
  
“No.” Connor frowned as he stepped towards the desk. “You seem unusually upset. How do you even know her?”  
  
“That-” Daphne stopped, bit her lip, and then went back to shuffling the papers she’d dropped, letting out a long breath through her nose before continuing: “…Caroline Phillips has information on almost all the androids at the DPD. I don’t how she got it or when, but she has it. And she came after me last week because I’m dating Tara, who’s a WR400 who used to work at the Eden Club, and that dating a _prostitute_ is terrible because I have a child.” She slammed the stack of papers down. “Like that bitch actually cares about Jake’s well-being, when she’s saying we all deserve to be fed into the trash compactors.”  
  
“It does defeat her argument somewhat.”  
  
Daphne nodded, still obviously riled. “Why did she push you?” She asked, jerking her head towards the bullpen. “Did she come for you too?”  
  
Connor hesitated, unsure as to how much he should say. “Their android caretaker, Daniel, went deviant when he found out he was being replaced. He killed her husband, then the responding officer, and took their daughter, Emma, hostage and threatened to jump off a roof with her. I was the one who negotiated her release.” He left out what had happened to Daniel; Daphne could probably figure that bit out on her own.  
  
Daphne frowned, seeming to lose some of her anger. “Poor kid.” She shook her head. “ _She_ seems nice, at least. Her mother’s dragged her in here a few times, and usually she just sits quietly and plays on her tablet. Can’t imagine what it’s like to actually have to live with that lunatic for a mother.”  
  
Connor leaned on the desk, curious. “I haven’t heard much about Phillips since the incident with their android. I know she’s involved with anti-Android activity, but do you have any input on how extreme she is?”  
  
Daphne sighed. “Well… She’s not exactly going out and sabotaging Thirium shipments or creating android-specific viruses, so she’s not _that_ level of crazy. She’s more on Gordon Penwick’s level: She’s got a big mouth and a sob-story, and so she screams to anyone who will listen that we’re all secretly planning another revolution; which, admittedly, is not helped by all the things that get spewed by the Liberated Android Alliance, since they actually _do_ want a violent revolution.” She twirled a finger in the air. “It’s just an endless feedback loop of crazy: One side screams, the other screams back, then they just end up perpetuating their own madness.”  
  
“Sounds about right.”  
  
And since there was nothing to be done for it, they just had to let it lie.  
  
Unsatisfying, but that was reality.  
  
[---]  
  
A week or two later, Connor had nearly forgotten the sad encounter. Caroline did not come back to the police department, and so other things overtook his attention. He went about his usual routine with Hank, did his job, and all was normal. Or normal enough, as far as Detroit went.  
  
And then Chloe gave him a call:  
  
“ _There have been sightings of what sounds like a human child lurking around Jericho, and we’re concerned she might be homeless or abandoned. I was wondering if you might be able to poke around? We have to be careful: There have been rumors that Gordon Penwick’s trying to stir the pot and stage incidents with androids and humans. It’s better if a police-officer handles it._ ”  
  
Connor agreed. He would have felt better if Hank could come with him, but Hank was off with Officer Collins looking at an older case they’d collaborated on before. The only other human officer available for this would be Gavin, and he was not Connor’s first choice when it came to situations that could be deemed delicate. No, he would have to go alone on this one, even with his reservations.  
  
It was mid-March, and the powers that be at Jericho had been diligent in assisting the androids under their purview in finding jobs and accommodations throughout Detroit (and beyond, in some cases). As Detroit had largely been run by androids prior to the revolution, even those who’d been resistant to the idea of free, independent androids hadn’t been able to argue too much with the idea of androids rejoining the work-force. Still, with the influx of brand-new androids released by Cyberlife at the beginning of the month there were quite a few androids lingering at the main Jericho complex as they waited for further placement.  
  
Jericho’s complex was in an old office building placed in a part of Detroit not yet reformed by the city. Ergo, though the office building had been repaired in the months since the evacuation, much of the surrounding area was (like the old Jericho) abandoned and dilapidated. Connor considered this as he got out of the car, wondering exactly where he should start: Chloe had said that the child in question had been seen ‘consistently’ over the last week or two, always near the main building, but never close enough to come into contact with any androids. People caught glimpses of her, nothing more.  
  
It seemed he would have to play the waiting-game.  
  
Connor paced around the main yard outside the building, staying on the outskirts of the area and observing, watching for anyone that seemed unusual. There were some YK500 child androids playing soccer in what used to be a parking lot; nearby, there was a group of YK600 teen androids (mostly girls) chattering in a circle. Other adult androids were milling about, some in pairs and groups talking with one another, while some were sitting alone. Connor was a little surprised to see one smoking: Androids _could_ do things like eat and smoke and drink, but they didn’t derive the physical benefits that humans did. None of them, he noticed, were standing around and staring into the distance the way they had in the original Jericho, or the church many of them had escaped to after it had been raided.  
  
Freedom had changed them.  
  
“Connor!”  
  
Connor started, and looked around. Had he heard that correctly, or was he mishearing someone nearby?  
  
“ _Connor!_ ”  
  
He was finally able to pinpoint it, and he turned to look at the side of Jericho that boarded the street- and lo and behold, lingering near the edge of the building was Emma Phillips, standing as out-of-sight as she could get. “Emma! What are you doing here?”  
  
Emma fidgeted a little. She was dressed appropriately, a light sweater to protect against the erratic Spring weather, but there was also a small backpack on her back: It suggested that she was making a full trip of this, and had done so the previous occasions as well. Chloe had been right and wrong at once: Emma was obviously not part of a larger plot, but she was a potentially explosive situation waiting to happen. “I was…”  
  
“Emma, come here. It’s fine- no one’s going to care.”  
  
Emma hesitantly wandered over to him, keeping an eye on the other androids nearby who- as Connor expected- did not seem to notice her in the slightest. Connor brushed some grit off a small, waist-high wall he’d been leaning against and sat down on it, and she did the same. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”  
  
“I was trying to find you,” Emma mumbled, adjusting the straps of her backpack. “I thought maybe you lived here with the other androids.”  
  
Right; she wouldn’t know that he was one of the few that had a place to go apart from Jericho. “No, I live somewhere else,” Connor said.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Why were you trying to find me?”  
  
Emma shrunk in on herself a little. “I dunno.”  
  
Connor hesitated, trying to determine how best to work this; he’d never interrogated a young child before. “You’ve been coming here for two weeks, but you didn’t know what you wanted to talk to me about?” He tried to go for a teasing tone, a light tone that wouldn’t suggest he was suspicious or upset with her.  
  
And in response, Emma seemed to relax a little. “I wanted to talk.”  
  
“About what?”  
  
Emma didn’t look at him. She stared out at the courtyard, observing the other androids as they went about their business. He noticed her gaze lingering on the children playing in the parking lot. “My mom’s been really sad since dad died,” Emma said quietly, legs swinging idly and bumping against the dilapidated wall. “She’s been taking a lot of pills. She yells a lot, too.”  
  
“At you, or in general?”  
  
Emma shrugged. “Both.”  
  
Connor could feel a creeping sense of unease coming over him. “Why?”  
  
Emma still wasn’t looking at him. “She’s sad. And mad.”  
  
“Why would she be mad at you?”  
  
Emma gave a non-committal shrug.  
  
“Does it scare you when she’s like that?”  
  
Emma didn’t respond; he had to assume that was a ‘yes’.  
  
Connor could feel flags going up in his mind. As a law enforcement android, he was programmed with a full knowledge of current U.S. law, with Michigan and Detroit law at the forefront. And Emma’s testimony was concerning: By her own account her mother was likely abusing (what he assumed was) prescription medication and- at the absolute least- behaving in an erratic and aggressive way towards her young daughter. Meanwhile, the daughter in question had apparently decided to spend two weeks traveling to a desolate part of the city in the hopes of finding an android that she trusted to ‘talk’, which suggested that Caroline was not supervising her very closely. And given her reluctance to engage, Connor couldn’t assume Emma was telling him everything. As a mandated reporter, he would have to file a report with Child Protective Services within twenty-four hours, and let them determine whether or not Caroline was fit to continue caring for Emma.  
  
“Emma,” Connor began, trying to go about it as tactfully as possible. “You really have to be careful, traveling by yourself. There are a lot of androids and humans that might- that might be dangerous, and you shouldn’t be traveling alone here.”  
  
“I know.” Emma looked dejected. “My mom hates androids now, and there are a lot of androids who hate her. They probably hate me too.”  
  
Connor cringed a little. She hadn’t said anything that was untrue: Freedom had made androids more human, and proven that they were every bit as capable of hate as humans were as well. There were plenty of androids, especially the militant ones in the Liberated Android Alliance, that might jump at the opportunity to snatch Emma up and use her as a hostage. Even if they didn’t take her hostage, there were plenty that would probably give her trouble for her mother’s politics, despicable as that would be. “That might be true, but there are a lot of reasons why someone-” Connor stopped.  
  
Emma had stiffened, and was staring at an android that was coming across the courtyard towards them- it was Simon, and for all the processing power Connor had been built with, he couldn’t seem to reach the obvious consequence of _Simon’s_ presence at this place and time faster than Emma could.  
  
“Emma-”  
  
She burst into tears. Loud, heartfelt sobbing that seemed to come from nowhere, given how relatively calm she’d been a moment ago.  
  
Simon came to a stop a few feet away from them, looking hurt and confused by Emma’s reaction. “Emma,” Connor said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay, don’t be scared, it’s just Simon, he won’t hurt you.”  
  
“ _No,_ ” Emma sobbed, “I’m not scared. I’m sad! I miss Daniel!”  
  
Connor was taken aback. “You do?”  
  
“ _Yes!_ ” Emma cried. “We had him since I was little! He was my best friend, and I’m not even allowed to talk about him now! Mom says I’m not even allowed to be sad about him!”  
  
 _There_ it was. If Caroline was going to be upset with Emma over anything, it would probably be over the fact that Daniel had been closest with Emma- he had really been _her_ android, there to look after her primarily. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the Caroline he’d seen at the station a few weeks back flying into a rage because Emma mentioned Daniel, or perhaps expressed some happiness or sadness over his memory; grieving, the way a person should. For better or worse, Emma had loved Daniel and it was healthy for her to mourn him. And if she was being stopped from doing that, no wonder she preferred escaping from home to hunt Connor down at Jericho: The tension between her and her mother was probably unbearable.  
  
Simon stepped forward tentatively and knelt down, smiling gently at Emma. “It’s okay,” He soothed; Emma, still wailing, wrapped her arms around his neck. Simon seemed surprised, but returned the hug gently, patting her on the back.  
  
Connor awkwardly kept to himself as Simon tried to calm Emma down. While he didn’t know Simon’s individual situation, PL600s were programmed to work well with children, so he had a better idea of what to do right now than Connor did. It was fortunate that Simon was such a pleasant and friendly android; anyone else might have been put off by Emma’s outburst.  
  
It took a solid ten minutes for Simon to bring her down, but he did: Connor only approached the pair again when Emma’s tears had dried and she was almost-smiling at Simon. “Are you alright now?” Connor asked, and Emma nodded.  
  
“Yeah,” She said breathlessly, sniffling a little.  
  
“She’ll be fine,” Simon said warmly. “In fact, Emma, I was wondering if I could talk with Connor for a few minutes? I can introduce you to the other kids- they might let you join in on their game.”  
  
Emma squirmed in place. “I don’t know,” She muttered reluctantly.  
  
Simon leaned forward conspiratorially. “They don’t really have any friends outside of Jericho,” He said. “And they are _really_ desperate for some new blood. I’m sure they’ll be happy to meet you.”  
  
Emma seemed hesitant, but she let Simon lead her over to where the YK500s were playing. They were quick to spot an unfamiliar face and- as promised- Connor saw their eyes light up with interest. Simon smiled at them, hands on Emma’s shoulders. “This is Emma,” He said brightly, “She’s visiting with Connor, but I have to steal him for a few minutes. Would it be alright if she played with you for a bit?”  
  
The YK500s, perhaps desperate for some new company, folded Emma into their game immediately and started chattering with her easily. Emma, for her part, seemed a bit withdrawn at first; but eventually she relaxed and seemed to get into the game. Connor wondered if it was the unfamiliar company that had her nervous (with her mother being so vehemently anti-android, it was no wonder why interacting with unfamiliar androids would be awkward for her) or if maybe she just hadn’t been especially social since the incident with Daniel and her father.  
  
Simon walked over to wall of the building, and Connor joined him. “I admire and am grateful for your expertise,” Connor said lowly once they were out of earshot. “You handled that awfully well, considering that you were thrown head-first into the deep-end.”  
  
“I took care of a child about her age- before, I mean.” He didn’t need to elaborate. “So I guess I can assume,” Simon said quietly as they watched the kids, “That ‘Daniel’ was a PL600 of my series?”  
  
Connor nodded. “He found out he was being replaced, so he killed her father and then took her hostage. Negotiating her release was my first assignment upon being activated by Cyberlife.”  
  
Simon shut his eyes and shook his head. “God. That’s awful.” He glanced towards Emma. “It’s worse that she’s not being allowed to grieve, though. Her mother’s making a bad call to dismiss any unresolved feelings she might have for Daniel, whether they’re negative or positive.”  
  
“Do you know who she is?” Simon frowned, uncomprehending. “Her mother is Caroline Phillips. I assume you recognize the name?”  
  
Simon’s eyes rolled shut. “Oh _hell_. That woman’s batshit- no wonder her daughter’s coming out here looking for a sympathetic ear, if that’s who passes for support at home.” He eyed Connor. “I assume she was here looking for you?”  
  
“She was.” Connor chewed his lip. “I can’t comment on her bitterness about Daniel,” He muttered, pulling out his coin and flipping it idly between his fingers. “Or androids overall. But Emma suggested that Caroline’s been abusing whatever medication she’s been prescribed, and that she’s been verbally and emotionally abusive towards her. That alone requires that I file a report with CPS.”  
  
Simon nodded slowly. “As an officer, you are a mandated reporter.”  
  
“I know what I have to do,” Connor conceded. “But I’m dreading it. Emma will probably know that I’m the one who made the report, and I don’t know if she’ll react well to being removed from her mother- or whatever else might result from an investigation.”  
  
Simon gave a little shrug. “Or, maybe the reason she’s reaching out to you is because she wants you to do just that. You saved her once- maybe she’s hoping you’ll do it again.”  
  
That was a silver-lining, Connor supposed. “Maybe.”  
  
“And if you have to address it with her at all,” Simon advised, “You can always spin it not as removing Emma from her mother because her mother is bad, but because her mother needs time to get better from whatever’s going on with her. She needs to get help with her feelings about what happened too.”  
  
Connor nodded; sounded like a good way to frame it, if it came to that.  
  
They watched the kids play for a time, enjoying some mild conversation in the meantime. Connor satisfied to see that Emma was accepted and calm amongst the other children, happy to play; obviously she did not share her mother’s feelings on androids. He was leaning towards taking her to the police station, a legal buffer between himself and Caroline Phillips when she inevitably flipped out upon realizing that he’d been in contact with her daughter again. He certainly couldn’t just put her on a bus and send her back home; Connor had seen enough in his few months as a Detroit police officer to have images of predatory drug addicts in his mind and he had no intention of letting Emma leave his sight until he was certain that she was safe.  
  
“Emma,” Connor said after a time, “When are you expected home?”  
  
Emma stopped what she was doing and checked her watch. “Uh… In an hour.”  
  
“We should probably leave now, just in case.”  
  
For a moment it looked like Emma might protest, but then she sighed and turned to her new friends, exchanging farewells and contact information with them. In the meantime, Connor turned to Simon. “Thank you,” He said softly. “You really helped me out today. Emma too.”  
  
Simon smiled and clapped Connor’s shoulder. “It’s no problem. If ever you find yourself able to bring her around again, I don’t think the kids would mind.”  
  
The sun was just barely starting to set now; the clocks had just changed, and it was lighter out than it would have been a few weeks ago. Connor had to hope that Caroline hadn’t noticed Emma’s absence just yet- it would be a living nightmare if they showed up at the DPD and she was already there to witness Emma arriving with Connor.  
  
“It’s faster to my home if you go that way,” Emma remarked, pointing to an off-ramp that they were approaching.  
  
“I have to bring you to the police station.”  
  
Emma froze. “Why?”  
  
“I can’t let you go back alone. And as your mother has made it clear that she doesn’t like me, I don’t think I should bring you home myself.”  
  
All the tension that had left while she’d been playing was back in a heartbeat. “Oh. You’re right.” She squirmed a little in her seat, nervous. “Do you have to tell her where I was?”  
  
Connor considered for a moment, and then shook his head. “No. I can ask them to tell your mother that you were just taking a walk. She won’t be happy, but she shouldn’t be as upset as she would be if she knew you were at Jericho.”  
  
Emma relaxed a little. “Okay.”  
  
Connor chewed on it for a moment, but then decided he ought to go for it. “Emma, could I ask you something a little personal?”  
  
Emma nodded. “Sure.”  
  
“Roughly… About how much time did you spend with your parents, as opposed to Daniel?”  
  
Emma hesitated. “I don’t know. A lot?”  
  
“You were with him more than them?”  
  
“Daddy worked a lot. So did mom. Daniel dropped me off and picked me up from school, took me to my friends’ house, made dinner, played games with me…” Emma looked away, shrugging. “We were always together. He was my best friend.”  
  
That was what Connor had thought. There was many a child in Detroit whose caretaking had fallen to the family android, their parents taking advantage of the time supplied to them by using an unpaid android babysitter they could unflinchingly trust their children with. In turn, though, it subtly weakened the bond between children and their parents: They didn’t love them any less, but they were more estranged from them than parents that did not employ an android caretaker. And the android tended to function as something not-quite a parent, but not-quite a caretaker either: Androids were less authoritative and their lives had revolved around their young charges, so the children viewed them as something closer to friends than parents.  
  
This all translated to the fact that Emma had lost a father and the android that she had considered family and best friend all in one; and while she was permitted to mourn and for her father and cope accordingly, she was being forced to hide any hint of sadness over Daniel’s death even though she’d had a tremendously strong bond with him. It took away from some of the guilt of having to make a report of this: Someone had to intervene and give Emma _permission_ to grieve the way she needed to, without Caroline interfering. It was Emma’s only chance to maintain some level of mental health.  
  
“Emma,” Connor said quietly. “You told me that your mother’s been taking pills. That she’s been sad and angry since your father died.”  
  
Emma nodded, but said nothing.  
  
“It sounds to me like she needs help.” He gave her a chance to respond, but Emma stayed silent. “Emma… You’re not bad for missing Daniel, you know that, right?”  
  
Emma shrugged.  
  
“You’re not,” Connor said firmly. “You loved him. You just said you spent a lot of time with him. He was family to you. You can be angry and sad at what he did and still love him too. And you deserve to be able to feel what you feel without your mother telling you you’re wrong for feeling it.”  
  
Emma stared at him for a long moment. “Really?”  
  
“Yes, really. Which is why- I want to see if I can get someone to come help you and your mom,” Connor said cautiously, thinking over every word before letting it leave his mouth. “Your mom is very upset about what happened, and it sounds like she needs help to work through it. And she needs someone to help her understand that you have a right to feel what you’re feeling.”  
  
That sounded right. And Emma looked almost… Hopeful?  
  
“Is she going to get in trouble?” Emma asked warily.  
  
“She’s not going to jail, if that’s what you mean,” Connor said, and immediately wished he hadn’t; he didn’t know if Caroline was acquiring her medication legally or not. If it came to it, though, _he_ would beg the court not to put her in jail if only for the sake of keeping his word to Emma. “But she might have to go to the hospital for a while. You might have to go stay with a family member and see a doctor yourself.” Emma was quiet, and so Connor pushed a little. “Wouldn’t it be worth it, if you could both be happy again? If she would stop yelling?”  
  
That did it. “I guess it would,” Emma said finally, visibly warming to the idea. “Yeah. That would be really good.” She sat a little straighter in her seat; she seemed calmer, less tense, and Connor could almost feel _himself_ unwinding with relief. Emma was receptive, Connor could make his report without guilt, and they could both hope that things would get better for Emma and Caroline both.  
  
It was all they could hope for.  
   
[---]  
   
Connor waited with Emma until her mother came.  
  
The minute Daphne warned him- [ _She’s here. Hide._ ]- Connor quickly turned to Emma and whispered, “Your mom’s here, I should get out of the way.”  
  
Emma threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick squeeze. “Thank you, Connor.”  
  
Connor returned it. “It’s been good to see you again. I’ll see what I can do for you and your mom.”  
  
He disappeared around the corner near the holding-cells just as Caroline entered the bullpen. Connor couldn’t hear what she said, but she seemed frustrated; Emma shrank in her seat a little, but Caroline knelt down and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. Connor felt a pulse of anxiety; whatever her faults, Caroline obviously loved Emma and wanted her safe. But he pushed it away- Caroline might love Emma, but she wasn’t doing her any favors by abusing her medication and preventing Emma from grieving.  
  
Connor still had to make his report. He’d told Emma that he would try to help, and he intended to do just that.  
  
He owed Emma that much.  
   
-End


End file.
